• SUBSCRIBE TO MAGAZINES
Athlon Outdoors Supersite
Tactical Life Website
Ballistic Website
Personal Defense World Website
Skillsetmag Website
  • Guns
    • Handguns
      • Semi-Automatic Handguns
      • Revolvers
    • Rifles
      • Semi-Automatic Rifles
      • Lever Action
      • Bolt Action
    • Shotguns
    • Airguns
    • Custom Guns
      • Handgun Build
      • Rifle Build
      • Shotgun Build
    • Specialty Guns
  • Parts
    • Handgun Parts
    • Rifle Parts
  • Accessories
    • Optics & Sights
    • Lasers & Lights
    • Suppressors
    • Holsters
    • Slings
    • Shooting Rests
    • Targets
    • Maintenance & Tools
  • Ammo
    • Handgun Ammo
      • 10mm
    • Rifle Ammo
      • .223
    • Shotgun Ammo
      • 12 Gauge
    • Rimfire Ammo
    • Reloading
  • Gear
    • Apparel
    • Ears & Eyes
      • Ears
      • Eyes
        • Thermal Vision
        • Night Vision
    • Storage
    • Tactical Gear
      • Body Armor
    • Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
  • Lifestyle
    • Concealed Carry
    • Personal Defense
      • Self-Defense
      • Hand to Hand Combat
    • Home Defense
    • Sport Shooting
      • Hunting
      • Competition Shooting
    • Precision Shooting/Long Range Shooting
    • Training
      • Shooting 101
    • Survival
      • First Aid
    • Tactical & LE
    • Pop Culture
      • People
      • Rides
      • History
      • Military
  • News
    • New Products & Industry News
    • Gun Facts & Laws
    • Police News
    • Military News
    • Politics
  • VIDEOS
No Result
View All Result
Athlon Outdoors
  • Guns
    • Handguns
      • Semi-Automatic Handguns
      • Revolvers
    • Rifles
      • Semi-Automatic Rifles
      • Lever Action
      • Bolt Action
    • Shotguns
    • Airguns
    • Custom Guns
      • Handgun Build
      • Rifle Build
      • Shotgun Build
    • Specialty Guns
  • Parts
    • Handgun Parts
    • Rifle Parts
  • Accessories
    • Optics & Sights
    • Lasers & Lights
    • Suppressors
    • Holsters
    • Slings
    • Shooting Rests
    • Targets
    • Maintenance & Tools
  • Ammo
    • Handgun Ammo
      • 10mm
    • Rifle Ammo
      • .223
    • Shotgun Ammo
      • 12 Gauge
    • Rimfire Ammo
    • Reloading
  • Gear
    • Apparel
    • Ears & Eyes
      • Ears
      • Eyes
        • Thermal Vision
        • Night Vision
    • Storage
    • Tactical Gear
      • Body Armor
    • Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
  • Lifestyle
    • Concealed Carry
    • Personal Defense
      • Self-Defense
      • Hand to Hand Combat
    • Home Defense
    • Sport Shooting
      • Hunting
      • Competition Shooting
    • Precision Shooting/Long Range Shooting
    • Training
      • Shooting 101
    • Survival
      • First Aid
    • Tactical & LE
    • Pop Culture
      • People
      • Rides
      • History
      • Military
  • News
    • New Products & Industry News
    • Gun Facts & Laws
    • Police News
    • Military News
    • Politics
  • VIDEOS
No Result
View All Result
Athlon Outdoors Super Site
No Result
View All Result
  • TL
  • PDW
  • BM
  • Skillset
 
YOU MUST BE A VIP - WELCOME TO THE NEW ATHLON OUTDOORS SUPERSITE! We are excited you are here!!

Shooting Gear, Tactics That Will Help Combat Declining Eyesight

ShareTweetPin
Declining Eyesight shooting, long-range shooting, scope

"In the more routine parts of my life, I still see fairly well. ... But our lives are not normal: We are shooters, and we need our 'falcon eyes' back."

Eduardo Abril de FontcubertabyEduardo Abril de Fontcuberta
October 3, 2018
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Declining Eyesight shooting, long-range shooting, scope
“In the more routine parts of my life, I still see fairly well. … But our lives are not normal: We are shooters, and we need our ‘falcon eyes’ back.”
Declining Eyesight shooting, Eduardo Abril de Fontcuberta
“At 55, I still don’t wear glasses every day. Others look at me with envy, but what they don’t know is that I don’t see as well as I used to, and I should use glasses more often.”
Declining Eyesight shooting, ScopeAid
Crafted for your specific eyesight, each ScopeAId lens makes it easier to see clearly through your riflescope.

No matter how well you see now, eventually your eyesight will diminish. Declining eyesight is unavoidable. That’s a fact.

Most people who know me think that my sight is still as sharp as a falcon’s. At 55, I still don’t wear glasses every day. Others look at me with envy, but what they don’t know is that I don’t see as well as I used to, and I should use glasses more often. So why don’t I use them?

Because I hate them. They fog up, I tend to lose them, and they break easily. In my shooting and sniping career, I don’t how many times I have had to remove my safety glasses due to fogging or other problems that have arisen.

In the more routine parts of my life, I still see fairly well. Even though I have lost some of my far sight and my advanced age is starting to hit me, I still read without glasses. But our lives are not normal: We are shooters, and we need our “falcon eyes” back.

My Declining Eyesight

Over the past four years, I saw that my eye performance was declining, especially in my left eye. I struggled to see wind flags. When I tried to correct it with normal lenses, I couldn’t see through my spotting scope. Then, last year, I started to feel the same effects on my right eye. My reticle was out of focus, and I could not see the turrets’ adjustments, as if the numbers on
them had been printed too small.

It was time to research the problem and find a solution. After all, many shooters have had glasses since they were kids and still do well. I found that when you grow up with vision problems, you become quite accustomed to seeing with glasses, but those of us afflicted at ages over 50 do not have that same adaptability.

After a lot of research and questioning various experts, I settled on a two-pronged approach to my eye problems: a corrective lens mounted on the scope called the ScopeAid combined with specialized bifocals, and a specialized eye-training system for elite sportsmen.

Presbyopia

The first occasion where I realized that I was losing my near sight was during a sniper exercise. I couldn’t adjust my scope turret because I couldn’t see its numbers.

Presbyopia is a condition where, with age, the eye exhibits a progressively diminished ability to focus on near objects. The exact mechanisms are not known with certainty, but like gray hair and wrinkles, presbyopia is a symptom of the natural course of aging. The first signs of presbyopia—eyestrain, difficulty seeing in dim light, problems focusing on small objects and/or fine print—are usually first noticed between the ages of 40 and 50.

To see the reticle and scope turrets better, I had to correct my short-range vision, say 10 to 30 inches. Thankfully, Clemit has designed several ScopeAid lenses to help in this regard. This is a company that knows what you mean when you talk about targets and scopes, and it knows the benefits its products will provide you and others struggling with those crosshairs.

Declining Eyesight: ScopeAid Lenses

The ScopeAid lenses were designed by champion target shooters, hunters and other experts to produce prescription lenses that allow you to take normal aim of your weapon. This allows you to align your eye to the reticle and the target more naturally for improved accuracy.

And Clemit did not design just one model. Various versions are available to handle a number of tasks, and I got my hands on the ScopeAid Mirage, a perfect choice for long-range shooters and hunters.

Strange Alcohol, weird liquor
RELATED STORY

Strange Alcohol: WTF Liquor You Won’t Believe Actually Exists

ScopeAid Mirage

The Mirage coating process filters visual waves of mirage in order so you can see the target object more clearly while still using the mirage to determine speed and direction of the wind.

Of course, you need to practice in order to understand the change of wave action when using this lens. Once competent, you can use the higher magnification of the scope without blurring the target with mirage waves.

ScopeAid Crystal

Another ScopeAid lens I tested is the Crystal model, which is the clear version most popular with hunters and target shooters. It reduces or eliminates the ghosting of images and reflection and makes quite the difference on cloudy overcast days.

ScopeAid Yellow

Other versions include the Yellow model, which allows the hunter to see in low-light conditions. It filters out a small amount of blue light waves from the light spectrum, thereby increasing visibility by making the object stand out and appear to be brighter.

ScopeAid Amber

On sunny, super-bright days, the Amber filter offers blue-light-wave-blocking capabilities. This enables competitive shooters and hunters to see those bright targets or animals in the woods during midday while reducing eyestrain.

ScopeAid Flame

The Flame ScopeAid is supposed to filter out the highest amount of blue light from the visible light spectrum, offering the highest color contrast properties in the line. This lens gets its name from the unique coloring it takes on after the filtering process has been completed. The shooter will have greater depth of vision while looking through thick brush, trees or tall grass to pick out shapes and color changes.

All told, the Mirage and Crystal ScopeAid lenses have given me super-sharp target images. I have recovered so much resolution and crispness that I feel that my eyesight is better than ever—or at least better than it has been for years.

Shooting Glasses

What about my non-shooting eye?

Using my prescription, the professionals at Clemit designed a pair of bifocals for me based on their Raptor glasses. These glasses can transition from yellow to amber depending on the time of day and how much blue light is being blocked.

Chris Pratt, Gadsden Flag Shirt
RELATED STORY

Internet Slams Actor Chris Pratt for Wearing a Gadsden Flag Shirt

They work together with the ScopeAid lenses, allowing my non-shooting eye to see super-distant wind flags. The bifocals let me use a spotting scope and see the small numbers on my scope turrets.

I am still getting used to this setup and finding the best view through my left eye. So far, the results have been great. Now I can identify wind changes with flags and also look though the spotting scope to see my spotting disks.

This year at the 2017 FCSA World Championships, I could see the spotting disks clearly for the first time in the last three or four years. I was very satisfied by the results—this helped me win my class.

Declining Eyesight: Eye Training

The second part of my regimen is based on specialized eye training that is helping me get the most of what I have. It will not improve your eye sight per se, but will allow you to perform better.

The EyePerformance system is an online vision training program that is the brainchild of Dr. Lawrence D. Lampert. He has worked with elite athletes, including players from top NBL and NFL teams, the Japanese Baseball League, the PGA and LPGA and even world-class international athletes during the 1996 Olympics. This specialized training involves developing peak visual skills such as following a ball, reacting more quickly, judging depth accurately and enhancing your hand/eye coordination.

Obviously, your vision plays an important part in hitting the target. Coordination, concentration, balance and accuracy are just a few of the visually related abilities you use during a competition. Vision affects your view of the target, the reticle, the wind flags in your periphery and how you deal with mirage or bad lighting conditions.

Essentially a series of games, the EyePerformance system is an ideal tool to use for training. It’s also good for warming up before practice or competition. You can use the PC version or download the free EyePerformance iPhone/iPad app.

Learning and Enhancing

If a shooter already wears prescription or contact lenses, their vision probably needs improvement for optimum sports performance. Even if they do not require corrective lenses, their visual acuity may still be enhanced. These skills are developed from birth and learned as you grow; they can also be taught, enhanced and improved at almost any time during your life under the direction of a behavioral optometrist who understands how your visual system works.

If some of these skills are not in top shape, the shooter may unconsciously compensate and weak spots might develop in their performance. Compensating behavior can include slowness or inconsistencies in one or more areas of your shooting.

Using the EyePerformance games, I found that I needed more practice changing focus quickly and accurately from one distance to another and switching from central to peripheral vision, which allows me to see animals while hunting and wind flags when competing out of the corner of my eye while still concentrating on the target. In both situations, this system was very helpful and improved my capabilities.

In the end, through the use of the ScopeAid, a custom pair of bifocals and the EyePerformance program, I can now see my targets better, even spotting disks during mirage conditions, as well as wind flags with my non-shooting eye. This approach helped me, and I bet it could work for you, too.

This story is from the spring 2018 issue of Ballistic Magazine. Grab your copy at OutdoorGroupStore.com.

Didn't find what you were looking for?

MOST POPULAR

All the best new handguns seen at SHOT Show 2023.

New for 2023: The 21 Best New Handguns Seen at SHOT Show

10 of the greatest pistol trainers and gunfighters

TOP 10: The Best Shooting Instructors & Gunfighters of All-Time

Police Sidearms, police duty pistols, Handguns, America's Largest Police Departments 2018

Police Sidearms: The Handguns of America’s 10 Largest Departments

Ruger LC Charger Left

NEW for 2023: Ruger LC Charger Brings 5.7x28mm to Pistol Line

TRENDING

TRUGLO's Micro-Tac Tactical Micro-Laser Sight

TRUGLO’s Micro-Tac Tactical Micro-Laser Sight

The Q4 Steel Frame comes optics-ready for installing a red dot.

Walther Q4 Steel Frame: An Optics-Ready Conceal Carry System

Trump Signs Executive Order to Recall Armed Forces Members

DARPA Awards Contracts for VTOL X-Plane Program

Gemtech The One Suppressor lead

Gemtech’s New ONE Suppressor Caters to All Calibers

BROWSE BY BRAND

Skillset-Logo_yellow-153x47png
Ballistic_LOGO-217x47
CH-Logo_blue-153x47
T-L-SS-stack life-47x140
PDW_CCH_LOGO-300x101
PDW-2022-Sidebyside-logo 160x30-blk
GOW LOGO x101
AF_LOGO-184x47

SPOTLIGHT

Weatherby Model 307 action and rifles.

Weatherby Model 307: First New Weatherby Action in 50+ Years

Big news out of Weatherby with the announcement of the company's first new centerfire rifle action in more than...

RELATED POSTS

Weatherby Model 307 action and rifles.

Weatherby Model 307: First New Weatherby Action in 50+ Years

...

The Uzi and its long history in Hollywood movies.

Lights, Camera, Uzis: The History of Hollywood’s Uzi Love Affair

...

Marine Corps Body Bearers fold the flag during an internment for a deceased Marine Corps veteran.

Memorial Day: A Grateful Firearm Industry Honors the Fallen

...

Load More

MOST POPULAR

All the best new handguns seen at SHOT Show 2023.

New for 2023: The 21 Best New Handguns Seen at SHOT Show

10 of the greatest pistol trainers and gunfighters

TOP 10: The Best Shooting Instructors & Gunfighters of All-Time

Police Sidearms, police duty pistols, Handguns, America's Largest Police Departments 2018

Police Sidearms: The Handguns of America’s 10 Largest Departments

TRENDING

All the best new handguns seen at SHOT Show 2023.

New for 2023: The 21 Best New Handguns Seen at SHOT Show

When it comes to 3D-printing guns, one name rises above the rest, Print, Shoot, Repeat.

Print Shoot Repeat! Fun With 3D-Printed Guns

1979 Chevy Camaro, God's Rambo, Bosnian War

How God’s Rambo & His 1979 Chevy Camaro Changed the Bosnian War

LONG RANGE PRECISION VIDEO SERIES

MORE VIDEOS

The Uzi and its long history in Hollywood movies.

Lights, Camera, Uzis: The History of Hollywood’s Uzi Love Affair

R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman.

In His Own Words: How R. Lee Ermey Became Gunnery Sgt. Hartman

HANDGUNS

ZEV Technologies OZ9 V2 Elite pistols

ZEV Technologies OZ9 V2 Elite: Pistol Modularity Redefined

The Beretta 92XI SAO.

Beretta Expands Its Popular 92 Line with the 92XI SAO

Ruger LC Charger Left

NEW for 2023: Ruger LC Charger Brings 5.7x28mm to Pistol Line

The CZ DWX Compact.

First Look: CZ DWX Compact Comes in a Concealed Carry Size

Otto Kron’s WWI Mauser HSc.

History: The Mauser HSc Recovered After a War Criminal’s Capture

America's first high-capacity autoloader, the Savage Model 1907.

Savage Model 1907: America’s First High-Capacity Autoloader

RIFLES - click to see all

Weatherby Model 307 action and rifles.

Weatherby Model 307: First New Weatherby Action in 50+ Years

The new Springfield Armory Saint Victor in tungsten grey finish.

Springfield Armory Adds SAINT Victor 5.56 in Tungsten Grey Finish

ZEV Technologies OZ9 V2 Elite pistols

ZEV Technologies OZ9 V2 Elite: Pistol Modularity Redefined

Wisconsin To Get a New Firearms Training Center, Mission94, in Early 2024.

Mission94 Firearms Education Center to Open in Early 2024

AMMO - click to see all

Testing the effective range of the .410 for hunting and survival.

So Just How Far is the Effective .410 Range for Hunting & Survival?

Two new Henry lever-action rifles chamber the Remington 360 Buckhammer.

360 Buckhammer: Core-Lokt Ammo, Henry Levers & the BFR

Arsenal SAM7SF lead AK evergreen

Top 20 AK Rifles & Soviet Weapons

A collection of .45-70 loads for lever-action rifles.

Magnificent 7: Testing Seven of the Best .45-70 Cartridges

Back when the west was wild, coach guns were your best bet against unwanted threats.

Best Coach Guns: the Stow-N-Go Defenders You Want Riding Shotgun [2023]

We tested the performance on eight of the best 9mm defensive loads.

Top Dog 9s: We Tested 8 of the Best 9mm Self-Defense Rounds

Magazines Available Now! Subscribe today for Home Delivery!
FREE NEWSLETTERS! Subscribe!
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • CORPORATE
  • ADVERTISE
  • EDIT DESK
No Result
View All Result
  • Guns
    • Handguns
      • Semi-Automatic Handguns
      • Revolvers
    • Rifles
      • Semi-Automatic Rifles
      • Lever Action
      • Bolt Action
    • Shotguns
    • Airguns
    • Custom Guns
      • Handgun Build
      • Rifle Build
      • Shotgun Build
    • Specialty Guns
  • Parts
    • Handgun Parts
    • Rifle Parts
  • Accessories
    • Optics & Sights
    • Lasers & Lights
    • Suppressors
    • Holsters
    • Slings
    • Shooting Rests
    • Targets
    • Maintenance & Tools
  • Ammo
    • Handgun Ammo
      • 10mm
    • Rifle Ammo
      • .223
    • Shotgun Ammo
      • 12 Gauge
    • Rimfire Ammo
    • Reloading
  • Gear
    • Apparel
    • Ears & Eyes
      • Ears
      • Eyes
    • Storage
    • Tactical Gear
      • Body Armor
    • Knives
      • Tactical Knives
    • Less Lethal
    • Flashlights
  • Lifestyle
    • Concealed Carry
    • Personal Defense
      • Self-Defense
      • Hand to Hand Combat
    • Home Defense
    • Sport Shooting
      • Hunting
      • Competition Shooting
    • Precision Shooting/Long Range Shooting
    • Training
      • Shooting 101
    • Survival
      • First Aid
    • Tactical & LE
    • Pop Culture
      • People
      • Rides
      • History
      • Military
  • News
    • New Products & Industry News
    • Gun Facts & Laws
    • Police News
    • Military News
    • Politics
  • VIDEOS

© 2023 Athlon Outdoors - Premium Firearm product and industry news, reviews and magazines" .